Danny Valencia
Daniel Paul Valencia is an American-Israeli professional baseball player who currently plays for the Israel national baseball team. He has played in Major League Baseball for the Minnesota Twins, Boston Red Sox, Baltimore Orioles, Kansas City Royals, Toronto Blue Jays, Oakland Athletics, and Seattle Mariners.
In high school, Valencia was all-county three times and all-state twice. At the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, he was Southern Conference Freshman of the Year, second-team all-conference, and on his all-regional team. He was drafted while he was a junior at the University of Miami by the Twins in the 19th round of the 2006 Major League Baseball draft, the 576th player overall. In the minors, Valencia was an All-Star in the Appalachian League, the Midwest League, and the Florida State League. He entered the 2010 season ranked as the sixth-best prospect of the Twins by Baseball America.
Valencia made his major league debut with the Twins in June 2010. He was named the third baseman on Baseball America's 2010 All-Rookie Team, and on the 2010 Topps Major League Rookie All-Star Team. In 2011, he led the Twins in RBIs, and led all major league third basemen in assists. In 2013, he batted.371 vs. left-handed pitching, leading the American League, and ranked third in slugging percentage at.639. In January 2017 Valencia was confirmed to be on the roster for Israel at the 2017 World Baseball Classic; however, when the final roster was released, he was not included. Over the course of his career through 2018, he batted.312/.370/.494 against left-handed pitchers. Through the 2018 season, his 96 home runs placed him 10th on the career all-time list of Jewish major leaguers, as did his 397 RBIs.
In September 2019, Valencia obtained Israeli citizenship and joined Team Israel. He played for Team Israel at the 2019 European Baseball Championship. He also played for the team at the Africa/Europe 2020 Olympic Qualification tournament in Italy in September 2019, which Israel won to qualify to play baseball at the 2020 Summer Olympics. He played first base for Team Israel at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo in the summer of 2021, and tied for the lead at the Olympics with three home runs. He played for Team Israel in the 2023 World Baseball Classic.
Early life and education
Valencia was born in Miami, Florida. His parents are Mindy Valencia, who is Jewish, and Michael Valencia, a Cuban immigrant who converted to Judaism.Valencia and his sister Laura were raised in Boca Raton, Florida. They were raised Jewish. Acknowledging his uncommon combination of heritage, he has said: "People are shocked at first that I’m Jewish. I get teased in the clubhouse about being Jewish, but we all get teased about something. Going to Hebrew school and being a bar mitzvah … made my mom really happy. I wished I had been out playing baseball, but looking back at it now, I’m happy I did it."
In 1996, Valencia pitched for the Boca Raton Babe Ruth League 12-and-under all-star baseball team that won the Florida state championship. The next year, he pitched and hit for the Boca Lightning 12-and-under travel baseball team that went 27–2 and won the South Florida All-Star Travel League championship. His two key hitting coaches growing up were Bob Molinaro, a family friend who is a former major leaguer and Eastern League manager, and Valencia's mother Mindy.
High school
Valencia attended Spanish River High School and played shortstop for four years on its Sharks baseball team. He earned South Florida Sun-Sentinel All-County honors as a junior, and was named first team All-Palm Beach County three times and second-team All-State twice. As a junior, in 2002 he was Offensive Player of the Year after hitting.430, and as a senior in 2003 he hit.575.UNC Greensboro
Although Valencia had dreamed of playing for the University of Miami, its baseball program did not recruit him, and instead he went to the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, one of two teams that had offered him a full baseball scholarship. In his freshman year, Valencia played third base and batted.338 with a.527 slugging percentage and a team-leading 8 home runs. He was the 2004 Southern Conference Freshman of the Year, and was voted second-team All-Conference.University of Miami
Homesick for Florida, Valencia sought to transfer to the University of Miami after his freshman year, even though it only offered him a modest scholarship. UNC-Greensboro initially agreed to release Valencia from his scholarship, but later refused, placing him in jeopardy of losing a year of college eligibility under NCAA Division I rules. He appealed to a university committee which ruled in his favor, allowing him to leave while preserving his eligibility.During his sophomore year, Valencia played first base for the University of Miami Hurricanes alongside then-third-baseman Ryan Braun. He hit.300 and drove in 63 runs while batting fifth in the lineup, and was named to the All-Regional Team. By his sophomore year of college, he had added 40 pounds. "It's night and day" from UNC-Greensboro, said Valencia. "It's awesome. It's what every Florida kid dreams of. It's the program–the winning, the uniforms. Everything from the strength coach to the facilities is completely different." During the summer of 2005, he played third base for the Anchorage Glacier Pilots in the Alaska Baseball League.
When Braun left to join the Milwaukee Brewers' farm system in 2005, Valencia replaced him at third base for his junior year, batting.324 with a.475 slugging percentage. Valencia hit.312 with 124 runs batted in in 122 games over two years with the Hurricanes, and played in the College World Series. Valencia then played seven games for the Orleans Cardinals in the Cape Cod League in the summer of 2006.
Drafted in the 19th round of the 2006 draft by the Minnesota Twins, the 576th player overall, he skipped his senior year of college to begin his pro career. Valencia was disappointed in his draft position, but said: "realistically, it does not change things for me. My goal has always been to get to the big leagues... It does not matter where you start, but where you finish."
In 2006 when he was drafted by the Twins, he took a leave of absence from college, but promised his parents he would ultimately finish his degree. As of the Fall of 2019, he was taking four online courses and had seven more courses to complete before earning his degree from the University of Miami.
Minor league career (2006–10)
2006–08
In his first professional season, Valencia played first and third base with the Elizabethton Twins. He compiled a.311 batting average and a.505 slugging percentage, with eight home runs and 29 RBIs in 48 games. He was also fifth in the league in at-bats-per-home-run. Valencia was named a 2006 Appalachian League Postseason All-Star, and then batted.364 in the playoffs.Valencia was selected as a Midwest League All Star in 2007, while playing with the Beloit Snappers, for whom he batted.302/.374/.500. His Beloit teammates nicknamed him "The Franchise". Manager Jeff Smith lauded him for using the whole field when he batted, and for patience at the plate.
Immediately following the All Star game, he was promoted to the high A Fort Myers Miracle. Valencia earned Florida State League "Player of the Week" honors, batting.379 with two home runs, three runs scored, and 10 RBIs for the week of July 16. He hit a combined.297/.354/.462 with 17 homers and 66 RBIs at Beloit and Fort Myers.
Again assigned to the Miracle for the first half of 2008, he batted a league-leading.336 with a league-leading 74 hits, and five home runs and 44 RBIs, a.402 on-base percentage, and a.518 slugging percentage. Valencia was named a Florida State League All Star, and helped the Miracle capture the FSL 2008 Western Division first half crown. Jim Rantz, director of minor leagues for the Twins, said that he expected Valencia would hit for both power and average.
Valencia was promoted to the Twins' Double-A affiliate, the New Britain Rock Cats, for the second half of the season. With the Rock Cats, Valencia batted.289 with 10 home runs and 32 RBIs. Between the two teams, he batted.311, with 15 home runs and 76 RBIs.
2009–13
With the Rock Cats to start 2009, he was voted the Eastern League Player of the Week Award for the week ending May 24, after batting.444 with a.778 slugging percentage. Rock Cats manager Tom Nieto said: "Danny's going to be a special player. He's got an electric bat." He hit 38 doubles during the season, tied for the most in the Twins' organization.Following the season, Valencia played 31 games of winter ball with the Arizona Fall League's Phoenix Desert Dogs. He spent spring training with the Twins in 2009 as a non-roster invitee, batting.429, and was assigned to New Britain following spring training. Baseball America ranked him as the fifth-best prospect in the Twins' organization.
During the 2009 season, Valencia first played for New Britain and was then promoted to the Triple-A Rochester Red Wings. He batted a combined.285 with 14 home runs and 70 RBIs for the two teams. The Twins management indicated that it felt that Valencia would be one of the top position players of the future. On November 20, 2009, he was added to the Twins' 40-man roster. Rantz said: "We're still trying to fill the third-base hole. Eventually... we're all hoping that be that guy."
He then played for the Indios de Mayagüez in the Puerto Rico winter league, and as a foreign-born player for Team Puerto Rico in the Caribbean Series. Twins general manager Bill Smith said in December: "I give Danny Valencia credit. He's down in Puerto Rico right now playing winter ball, and trying to get better.... You always want an underdog guy, somebody to step up when presented with an opportunity." Hector Otero, the Twins scout who signed Valencia and who was the general manager of the Mayagüez club, said: "I think he is a talented player. He definitely can throw. He worked on his defense–worked extra before games–and everyone knows he can swing the bat."
Valencia entered the 2010 season ranked as the Twins' sixth-best prospect by Baseball America. He began 2010 playing third base for Rochester, and was batting.292 in 48 games when he was called up by the parent club.
In 2013, Valencia batted.286 with 14 home runs and 51 RBIs in 262 at bats with the Triple-A Norfolk Tides, and a.531 slugging percentage that would have ranked second in the International League if he had reached the minimum number of at bats.